Safety-tint paper



D. E. WOODHULL SAFETY TINT PAPER June 5l, 1923.`

Filed July 15. 1921 M @www1/coz Patented June 5, 1923.

UNITED STATES oPMI-:NT OFFICE.

DANIEL E. WOODHULL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, A CORPORATION F NEW YORK.

SAFETY-TINT PAPER.

Application led'luly 15, 1921. Serial No. 485,031.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL E, WooDHULL, a citizen of the United States, residing at theborough of Manhattan' in the city, 5 county, and State of New York, .have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Tint Paper, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings,

which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to safety tint paper,

and more particularly to those characteris-v tics thereof which will make counterfeiting of bank notes and negotiable instruments more difficult, or the detection of counterfeits more certain.

'Safety .tints upon paper used for some bank notes, checks, drafts, letters of credit and other negotiable instruments usually consist of a fine line scroll geometrical design impressed upon the paper in -colored inks which may not be photographed readily, the usual practice being to create al geometrical design by means of a rose engine or pantographic machine, and to combine different arbitrarily selected portions of the designso formed in a printing plate either engraved or acid-etched, so as to permit the making of an impression of a safety tint of the desired dimensions to form a background upon the paper prior to the making of other impressions thereon.

Prior to my invention, the production of the design was mechanical throughout, so that a skilled operator with a roseengine or pantographic machine could, with considerable difficulty however, reproduce the safety tint design with suicient accuracy to make the detection of a counterfeit note or instrument difficult. In all such designs,-

all of the lines were of the same width, as ldetermined by the tracing stylus of the rose engine or pantographic machine, exoepting where the lines crossed and recrossed in close proximity and in large numbers, where under a magnifying glass the effect was irregular and blotchy.

All such designs, prior to my invention, showed evidence of their mechanical origin, lacking those distinctive f characteristics present in hand work.

Heretofore, to obviate this condition, these 'safety designs have been printed in different colors as to different parts thereof and sometimes with chromatic effects as to other parts thereof, which somewhat f increased the factor of safety in such papers but did not correct the mec the design.`

With the above'conditions in mind, I have produced a paperI having a safety tint formed of a line scroll or geometrical design having all the superficial characteristics of a design produced by a rose engine or anical aspects of a pantographic machine, but differing therefrom in that upon careful inspection even with the naked eye variations from the usual mechanical effects are readily observable. Such a tint design cannot be reproduced mechanically as can the ordinary rose engine of pantographic design, and has characteristics which will permit it to be instantly distinguished from an attempted mechanical reproduction thereof, and when it appears in a plurality of different colors, or in chromatic color effects, in a manner more fully described hereinafter, cannot be readily reproduced photographically .for purposes of counterfeiting.

` The invention consists primarily in safety tint paper having impressed thereon a' line geometrical design of the general character of a machine-made desiffn having the lines of some of the loops relatively wider than V the lines of adjacent loops, whereby possibili-ty of a mechanical reproduction lof the design for counterfeiting purposes is minimized; and in such other novel characteristics `as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in lthe claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

1 is a view of a fragmentarof a geometrical line design mech produced;l and f' Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the modification of this design as used in safety paper embodying my invention. i

Like letters refer to like parts through-vr out both of said views.- y

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the

portion anically v is practically work for bank notes and some negotiable .instruments is formed from a medallion design composed of a sequence of loops or convolutions in a continuous line, succeeding convolutions being spaced a short distance apart and each loop being constricted toward the center of the design. The result is a figure havin a more or less fluted edge with light tona effects adjacent thereto, there being a deepening of these effects toward the center of the design wherein the lines are very much closer together and frequently cross and re-cross each other in a manner to form solid masses of color between the center of the design and the outer edge thereof. By using very narrow lines and pastel color edects, and by using colors which will absorb light rays to an extent to make it difiicult even with highly sensitized plates to secure a photographic reproduction thereof, a reproduction of the printed'design by means of photo-engraving eliminated because of they difliculty of securing in the engraved plate continuity of the line forming the design.

For the purpose of more clearly explaining'the invention, the figures of the drawings are shown upon a very much enlarged scale, and four succeeding loops of the continuous line forming the design are indif cated at a, b, c and d respectively, and the deeper toned portion toward the center of the design, being indicated at e.

The safety tint design may be secured by selecting only portions of this design and reproducing it a large number of times by' means of transfers, or the completed geometrical design may be used with the medallion effect in certain portions' of the note or instrument.

It will be readily understood that one skilled in the use of a rose engineer pantograph might readily reproduce any design of this character, the paper of my invention bearing a safety tint design developed from and having the general character of, that produced by means of a rose engine or pantograph, but varying therefrom in characteristics which cannot be mechanically reproduced.

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, this result is secured by arbitrarily selecting certain lines of certain loops in the design and making them considerably broader than lines of the adjacent loops, thus imparting a noticeable and unusual variation in thev effect of the tint design so that any one familiar with a safety tint paper embodying my invention, can at a mere glance distinguish it from a mechanically produced design.

The widened lines of the loop, as in a, may be made of uniform width throughout as indicated at a in Fig. 2, or may be of graduated width from that of the width of of the line a as indicated at the line of the loop b to the maximum width 012 in Fig. 2, or one side of the loop a may be widened and the other side left at the width normally produced by the rose engine or pantograph, as indicated at a3 in Fig. 2.

As a further safeguard, succeeding loops i a, l), c and d may be printed in separate colors, or alternate lines or lines otherwise grouped may appear in diderent colors, the ink of one line overlaying that of another so as to secure absolute continuity of the lines of the design or ensure absolute register of the lines of different loops where they cross.

By having some of the lines of the safety tint of greater width than other lines, a mechanical reproduction of the design is made absolutely impossible, the employment of different colors which may be either solid colors or have chromatic effects, preventing a photographic reproduction of the design with sufficient accuracy to permit successful counterfeiting thereof.

As a further safeguard, the portion e of the mechanically reproduced design is deleted, and replaced by an arbitrary, irregularly shaped figure in the design, as indicated in Fig. 2 at e', which could not under any circumstances be the result of the ordinary functioning of a rose engine or pantograph in creating the scroll features of the design. y

As a. still further safeguard, I sometimes include in the safety tint design of the paper, a small arbitrary figure f extending across the lines of succeeding loops intermediate i the opposite ends of the loops in any desired position and appearing in any color or group of colors, which figure would not be developed by'anyI machine which might be used for creating the geometrical design of the tint.

The design for a bank note or negotiable instrument is repeated a large number of times upon the paper, and the practical impossibility of reproducing the design photographically and absolute impossibility of reproducing the design mechanically, practically eliminates all possibility of successful counterfeiting of ready detection of attempted counterfeits. The safety tint also makes erasure and alterations in negotiable instruments extremely difficult by reason of the difficulty of accurately restoring the safety design upon the paper when such has been once removed.

When the design of the safety tint of my invention has once been created, it may be impressed upon the paper by the same methods formerly employed.

Paper made in accordance with my invention has a greater safety factor than any other paper bearing a tint design with which I am familiar, and I believe I am the first to conceive of a safety paper bearing design developed from a mechanica y produced geometrical design but varyin therefrom as to the characteristics of the ines in a manner to prevent a mechanical reproduction thereof, and I intend to claim such broadly.

It is apparent that the character of the design of the tint may be varied indefinitely and that the arrangement of the widened lines and the arbitrar figures also has a wide range, and that t e color schemes are also mat-ters of selection. The foregoing range of possibility as to variations of the paper are necessary in order to permit different lines of notes or negotiable instruments to be readily distinguishedone from the other.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is

1. Safety tint paper having im ressed thereon a line geometrical design of tlie gena tint leral character of a machine-made desi having the lines of some of the loops re atively wider than the lines of adjacent loops, whereby possibility of'a mechanical reproduction of the design for counterfeiting purposes is minimized.

2. Safety tint paperhaving im ressed thereon a linegeometrical designof t e general character ofl a machine-made design having the lines of some of the loops relatively wider than the linesl of adjacent loops, whereby possibility of a mechanical reproduction of the design for counterfeiting urposes is minimized, different ortions o the lines of said design being in different colors, whereby photographic reproduction of the design is prevented.

3. Safety tint paper having impressed thereon a line geometrical design of the general character of a machine-made design having the lines of some of the loops relatively wider than the lines of adjacent loops, whereby possibility of a mechanical repro` duction of the design for counterfeiting purposes is minimized, different port-ions of the lines of said design being in different colors, and lines of one color overlaying lines of another color at their point of intersection, whereby photographic reproduction of the design is prevented. f

4. Safety tint paper having impressed thereon a line geometrical design of the general character of a machine-made design having the lines of some of the loops relatively wider than the lines of adjacent loops, and an irregularly shaped, arbitrary figure adjacent the inner end of the loops forming the design, whereby possibility of a mechanical reproduction of the design for counterfeitin purposes is minimized.

5. afety tint paper' having impressed tively wider than the lines of adjacent loops,

an irregularly shaped, arbitrary ligure adjacent the inner end of the loops forming the design, ing across the lines of succeeding loops intermediate opposite ends of the loops, whereby possibility of a mechanical reproduction of the. design for counterfeiting purposes is minimized.

7. Safety tint paper having. impressed thereon a line geometrical design of t e general character of a machine-made design having the lines of some lof the loops relatively wider than the lines of'adjacent loops,

- and an irregularly shaped, arbltrary figure adjacent the inner end of the loops forming the design, whereby possibility of a mechanical reproduction of the design for counterfeiting purposes is minimized, different lines of sa1d geometrical design and said arbitrary figure appearing in different colors, whereby photographic reproduction Iof the design of the tint is prevented.

8. Safety thereon a linegeometrical design ofthe general character of a machine-made design having the lines ofsome of the loops relatively wider than the lines of adjacent loops, and a small arbitrar figure extending across the lines of succee ing loops intermediate opposite ends of theloops, whereby possibllity of a mechanical reproduction of the design' for counterfeiting purposes is miniand a small arbitrary figure extend.

tint paper having impressed mized, different lines of sald geometrical der sign and said arbitrary figure appearing in different colors,

vented.

9. Safety tint paper having im ressed thereon a line geometrical design of t e gen- `eral character of a machine-made desi whereby photographic reproduction of the design of the tint is pre- 120` of adjacent loo s,

by ossibility of a mechanical reproduction of t e design for counterfeiting purposes is minimized, diierent lines of said geometrisubscribing witnesses, this 20th day of Juny cal design and said arbitrary figures appear- 1921. ing in different colors, whereby photographic reproduction of the design of the 5 tint is prevented. Witnesses:

n witness whereof I have hereunto a- ALFRED S. MAJOR, fixed my signature, in the presence of two F. T. WENTWORTH.

DANIEL E. wooDHmL. 

